Page 20 - College Planning & Management, April 2017

It Comes Down to the Students
Once the physical needs of shelter and safety are met — as close to student expectations as possible, knowing that the wishlist will almost always exceed availability — we asked our survey respondents what is the one issue that concerns them most right now, and why.
Costs, funding and condition of facilities top the list. Com- petition with off-campus facilities concerns some. Cited more frequently through the years of compiling these surveys however, is the answer “mental health.”
“Mental health. Students are very fragile, requiring increasing amounts of staff time,” one respondent notes. “Civility and mental health,” says another. “Mental health issues,” agree several more.
“Mental health issues have been on the rise for the past 10 years, and it is a challenge for on-campus counseling centers to keep up with the demand,” opines one survey respondent. “There is this perception that college students are babied and coddled,
and at times, this is not wrong. There is an apex where care falls from enough to too much... and I wonder if we have fallen over to that side, as a field. There should be safe feelings on campus, but at what cost? To assist people from overcoming adversity or to make it where ‘bad things’ don’t even exist on a campus. I am afraid when we send students out into the ‘real world’ and they are faced with hate, discrimination, ideas they find offensive, etc., that they won’t know how to handle them appropriately; I am afraid they will either shatter internally or go on the offensive.”
Tangential to concern over student mental health is a new response to CP&M’s question on current concerns this year: “Com- fort pets,” and “emotional support animals.”
“Kansas law allowing guns on campus,” states another.
And along those lines of the student experience, what is the biggest change housing experts have seen in their residence halls in the last five years?
The demand for amenities clearly tops the list. With the word “demand” being key.
“The desire for more private spaces and additional amenities.” “There is a stark difference between our older residence halls and new residence halls. Students are also asking for more private amenities — such as laundry within rooms, more kitchens.” “The demand for servic- es. Parents who go to the top immediately if they feel their own personal expectations are not being met for their son or daughter.” “Demand to be closer to dining choices, classrooms, rec center.” “Demand for pri- vate rooms.” “It’s very hard to keep up with the demands of incoming students and their parents,” responds one. “It is always a balancing act between facility management and program management.”
A few mentioned increased use of marijuana as the biggest change noted, while another noted a “decrease in alcohol use and increase in drug use.” Gender identity issues received two mentions.
Campus housing directors are on the front lines, working out the balance between student/parent wants and needs; residents’ safety and security; institutional budgets; what can be accom- plished realistically and what cannot; and keeping existing facilities up and running, attractive and functional. In the face of the ongoing challenges, they’re succeeding. “[Residence life on our campus is] very much improving and more attractive to incoming students,observesarespondent. CPM
CP&M would like to thank the housing directors who responded to our 2017 survey. The survey data was collected from 50 colleges and universities (45 four-year, five two-year; 31 public, 17 non- profit, two for-profit) representing 25 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. A total of 993 residential facilities are located on the campuses of and/or or managed by the respondents.
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HOUSING SURVEY COLLEGE PLANNING & MANAGEMENT 4 2017
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